Canadian Fintech Landscape Shifts Towards Open Banking and Real-Time Payments
Canada's fintech landscape is changing with consumer-driven banking finally on the verge of implementation. Despite having one of the world's most developed financial systems, Canada has been slow to adopt open banking and modern payment infrastructure.
The country's biggest banks, including Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, and Scotiabank, dominate the market, but fintech companies like Wealthsimple have made significant strides in recent years. Wealthsimple, founded in 2014, has expanded its services to include self-directed trading, cryptocurrency, savings, payments, and more.
With four million Canadians served, Wealthimple's ambitions have grown, announcing new products for family finances, children's accounts, and business banking. Other fintech companies like KOHO, Neo Financial, Float, and Flinks are also making waves in the industry.
The federal government has pre-published regulations to operationalize consumer-driven banking, allowing consumers and businesses to share financial information securely with approved providers without handing over their banking passwords. The Bank of Canada will oversee participating banks, credit unions, fintechs, and other accredited providers.